Isle of Skye Wedding: Planning

Kelly and Eugene met through friends while both living in Los Angeles. They had a mutual love of hiking which led them to travel to some amazing hiking spots, including Isle of Skye, Scotland. After their engagement which took place during a hike, they knew immediately that they wanted to be married on Isle of Skye.

When they asked me to plan their Scotland wedding I knew it would be difficult but I was also extremely excited for the challenge! We had no plans of visiting Isle of Skye before the wedding so everything had to be planned from afar. Isle of Skye is beautiful, wild, unpredictable and incredibly remote. Nearly all of our wedding vendors had to travel 3-6 hours from Glasgow or Inverness. Many of the vendors I found online or from networking with other vendors in the area.

I absolutely adored our photographer Nikki Leadbetter. She was amazing to work with and her photos are so beautiful that I keep saying I wish I could fly her out to Los Angeles to do every wedding with me. Really all of our vendors put in extra effort to make sure that the day was really special!

Kelly had said from the very beginning that she really wanted an outdoor ceremony and the 200 year old bridge in front of The Sligachan Hotel on Isle of Skye seemed to be the perfect spot. Even though it was hailing the morning of the wedding, the skies opened up briefly and we managed to get everyone out on the bridge, along with the bagpiper for a beautiful ceremony. My favorite moment was at the end of the ceremony when we tossed rose petals in the air and the bagpiper began playing "The Gael". I had imagined that moment for them for the 1.5 years while we were planning and it was just as romantic and beautiful as I had hoped!

Kelly wore a gorgeous Claire Pettibone gown and carried a wild bouquet of garden roses. During cocktail hour, the clouds and rain appeared again and the guests stayed cozy next to the fire in Sligachan Hotel's lounge while Neil the bagpiper preformed a Gaelic toast to the bride and groom.

The reception was held at Skye Gathering Hall overlooking Portree bay. When I met the caretaker at the hall she asked me very seriously if anyone in our group had a wooden leg. She explained that, one of the many legends of the hall states that if a man with a wooden leg and a woman in a red dress enter the hall together that tragedy would befall all of the guests. Fortunately, we had no red dresses or wooden legs present.

Barb, from Running Wild Florals, did an amazing job in creating the beautiful florals for the tables and sourcing the brass candlesticks. The brides mother found pretty vintage napkins. I made a stop at IKEA on the way from Edinburgh to get the lace that we hung from the rafters, among other decor that couldn't pack in our suitcases.

Eugene managed to find and hire storm troopers that greeted the guests as they entered the hall. This was a bit of an inside joke for his family and friends but it was also simply because his mother had said "no storm troopers". During their first dance as a couple, the sun came out again and we looked out the windows to see a beautiful rainbow over Portree Bay. At sunset (which was at 10:00 pm!) we had all of the guests gather outside for a group portrait in front of Portree bay. The singing and dancing continued on into the wee hours of the night at Sligachan Hotel's pub. My husband and I finally headed for bed as the sunlight was beginning to creep over the black mountains.

Despite all of the scotch and excitement, the bride and groom ran the Edinburgh Marathon just a few days later. My husband, sister and I all joined them but in the HALF marathon. I honestly don't know how they did it. All of the Scots we met said that we were all "off our heads" but it was an amazing end to a beautiful week.

Isle of Skye Wedding: Planning

Kelly and Eugene met through friends while both living in Los Angeles. They had a mutual love of hiking which led them to travel to some amazing hiking spots, including Isle of Skye, Scotland. After their engagement which took place during a hike, they knew immediately that they wanted to be married on Isle of Skye.

When they asked me to plan their Scotland wedding I knew it would be difficult but I was also extremely excited for the challenge! We had no plans of visiting Isle of Skye before the wedding so everything had to be planned from afar. Isle of Skye is beautiful, wild, unpredictable and incredibly remote. Nearly all of our wedding vendors had to travel 3-6 hours from Glasgow or Inverness. Many of the vendors I found online or from networking with other vendors in the area.

I absolutely adored our photographer Nikki Leadbetter. She was amazing to work with and her photos are so beautiful that I keep saying I wish I could fly her out to Los Angeles to do every wedding with me. Really all of our vendors put in extra effort to make sure that the day was really special!

Kelly had said from the very beginning that she really wanted an outdoor ceremony and the 200 year old bridge in front of The Sligachan Hotel on Isle of Skye seemed to be the perfect spot. Even though it was hailing the morning of the wedding, the skies opened up briefly and we managed to get everyone out on the bridge, along with the bagpiper for a beautiful ceremony. My favorite moment was at the end of the ceremony when we tossed rose petals in the air and the bagpiper began playing "The Gael". I had imagined that moment for them for the 1.5 years while we were planning and it was just as romantic and beautiful as I had hoped!

Kelly wore a gorgeous Claire Pettibone gown and carried a wild bouquet of garden roses. During cocktail hour, the clouds and rain appeared again and the guests stayed cozy next to the fire in Sligachan Hotel's lounge while Neil the bagpiper preformed a Gaelic toast to the bride and groom.

The reception was held at Skye Gathering Hall overlooking Portree bay. When I met the caretaker at the hall she asked me very seriously if anyone in our group had a wooden leg. She explained that, one of the many legends of the hall states that if a man with a wooden leg and a woman in a red dress enter the hall together that tragedy would befall all of the guests. Fortunately, we had no red dresses or wooden legs present.

Barb, from Running Wild Florals, did an amazing job in creating the beautiful florals for the tables and sourcing the brass candlesticks. The brides mother found pretty vintage napkins. I made a stop at IKEA on the way from Edinburgh to get the lace that we hung from the rafters, among other decor that couldn't pack in our suitcases.

Eugene managed to find and hire storm troopers that greeted the guests as they entered the hall. This was a bit of an inside joke for his family and friends but it was also simply because his mother had said "no storm troopers". During their first dance as a couple, the sun came out again and we looked out the windows to see a beautiful rainbow over Portree Bay. At sunset (which was at 10:00 pm!) we had all of the guests gather outside for a group portrait in front of Portree bay. The singing and dancing continued on into the wee hours of the night at Sligachan Hotel's pub. My husband and I finally headed for bed as the sunlight was beginning to creep over the black mountains.

Despite all of the scotch and excitement, the bride and groom ran the Edinburgh Marathon just a few days later. My husband, sister and I all joined them but in the HALF marathon. I honestly don't know how they did it. All of the Scots we met said that we were all "off our heads" but it was an amazing end to a beautiful week.